December – Dark Winter

A few of my Dark Winter drapes

Overview

We’ve finally made it to the last of the 12 seasons – and my own personal best season – Dark Winter. There are so many things I love about DW. It takes the icy coolness of winter and adds just a touch of earthy warmth. This results in a sort of smokiness that’s very unique in the 12 seasons. While probably not the overall darkest palette due to the fact that Dark Winter contains some more traditionally Wintery icy and light shades, this palette still goes extremely dark, very bold, and vibrantly rich.

When you’re a color analyst, your diaper bag matches your season

Things that are easy

Jewel tones

The somewhat smoky Dark Winter jewel tones like wine red, rich emerald, and deep fuchsia are easy finds for people who wear this season well. DW has one of the easier transitions post-draping for this reason. Many of the deeper DW lipsticks like plum and ruby fall into this “jeweled” category as well, meaning if you’re drawn to those sorts of shades, it’s very easy to incorporate them into your wardrobe quickly. It’s a rare day I can’t walk through a mall and find at least a few DW reds and plums (particularly around the end of the year).

Neutrals

Dark Winter has a somewhat unique situation in that many darker neutrals work with the palette well. Black is of course a staple, but everything from espresso brown and charcoal to white and lightened taupe can be worked in, as long as they’re cool enough. The fact that darkness is a very important element to this season means that darker colors tend to read as harmonious even if they’re not spot on. I certainly don’t recommend picking up a neutral just because it’s dark, but this season does have a fair bit of fudgeability with neutrals as long as they’re not too warm or unsaturated.

Winter wear

In the U.S., many of the colors we associate with our major holiday season (from late November to early January) fall into the Dark Winter wheelhouse. It’s not at all difficult to find a pine green Christmas sweater or a flashy midnight blue New Year’s dress. Outerwear, as well, is often found in shades of magenta, ruby red, or black, which is great news for people who wear this season well. I was able to find a perfectly DW green ski jacket at the end of last season, and living in Wisconsin, it’s one of the most often-showcased pieces in my personal wardrobe.

A color-cohesive wardrobe helps me feel a bit more pulled together without makeup

Things that are hard

Relying on black

Black is classic, timeless, and just plain easy. It plays well with the DW palette, and offers the perfect backdrop for a pop of color. Which is why it’s so easy for people who wear DW to fill their entire closets with black. That’s perfectly fine if it makes you feel good (my own closet has loads of black and I’m not sorry about it), but many people come to me for a color analysis to find what OTHER colors work for them. I always encourage people, no matter the season, to explore the reaches of their palette and incorporate things they wouldn’t normally reach for. Fashion should be fun!

Low-key makeup

This isn’t necessarily “hard,” but it can take a bit of trial and error to find a version of lighter makeup that works. Many things like golden bronzers, warm brown eyeshadow, and beige lipstick will be too warm or unsaturated to support the strong coloring of a person who lives in DW. This just means switching to berry blush, taupe eyeshadow, or cooler lips to give the same “unfinished” look in more seasonally-appropriate shades.

Seasonal crossover

We know by now that every season has a bit of trouble confusing itself with other seasons, and DW is no exception. It’s very easy to find a dark green that’s too soft (Soft Summer), a red that’s too bright (Bright Winter), or a yellow that’s too warm (Dark Autumn) and confuse it with Dark Winter. Swatching with your canvas color book is of course a great way to combat this!

So much variance here! (Fan from truecolour.com.au)

Biggest Misconception

I have to wear dark clothes

In some ways, the descriptor words at the beginning of the Neutral seasons can give us some misconceptions about what they actually are. “Dark” might be in the name of Dark Winter, but there are so many beautiful shades in the palette that aren’t dark at all. Think icy aqua, banana yellow, and medium coral. My favorite technique for working these shades into a predominantly dark palette is to try these lighter colors with some of the darker ones at first. Even though it’s lighter, that coral top should still hold its own next to a pair of deep navy leggings. The entire 12-season system is built on the fact that our eyes are able to recognize when certain colors work together, so if it swatches well and looks good with another DW item in your closet, go for it!

Harmony 💕

My favorite shade

Burgundy

Me: I don’t have a favorite color

Also me:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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All photos credited to Colorgeek Studio, LLC unless otherwise noted. Photos are meant to evoke the feelings associated with each season, and are not guaranteed for seasonal accuracy due to variations in lighting and screen resolution.

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11 thoughts on “December – Dark Winter”

Ohh I was looking forward for this post! I am so convinced that I am DW… although is not my favorite!! I wish I could go for a PCA in person..but I live in Spain. I have been analyzed online (and I think quite accurately) as soft, cool, deep. The point that always have induced me to confusion, is that I don’t look good in black, and hate the clear colors; but I have come to the conclusion that I have room in the DW spectrum. Please share more contents about DW!! And of course happy new Year xxx

I hear you! As a DW myself, I’m much more drawn to the smoky, blackened, warmer end of the palette. Difficult to do without going full on into Soft Summer or Dark Autumn! The most important thing to remember is to wear what makes you feel good. Color analysis provides some great information about what works and doesn’t, but it’s not meant to be hard and fast rules! Happy new year!

I have the same problem! I’ve sometimes thought Dark Winter is too cool and too bright; I’ve sometimes thought I might be a Soft Summer or a Dark Autumn. But Soft Summer is too muted for me and Dark Autumn is too warm for me – too muted and/or too warm and I look ill. Dark Winter is the best for me – though I tend to stick to the softer and warmer colors in the Dark Winter palette.

I have the opposite “problem” to some commentators here that I could happily live in black all my life 😉 (And when I buy other colours, even though flattering, they tend to end up in my wardrobe unworn, mostly.) It’s just simply the best colour for my style and my personality. But DW lipsticks are simply too dark for me, or most of them, which confuses the issue for me… A Soft (or any Summer or lighter season) I’m sure I am not (even if I may look like one, not being of dark colouring to look at).

I would love some more makeup content! I’m a DW and I look good in all the deep berry and burgundy lips, but I really hate wearing lipstick. I’m low maintenance so I would kill for some DW MLBB recommendations. My lips turn a lot of things light and warm so I have a hard time with lipsticks and glosses. So far, Buxom French Martini Creme Gloss is the closest thing I can find to a MLBB. I was also recently switched to DW from BW (so much better as BW looked “plastic” on me) so I’m a bit out of the loop when it comes to DW and could use some help. Do you know of a group or forum I could look to for suggestions?

I definitely have some more makeup content in the works, but I can tell you right now that different people within the same seasons will wear “their season’s” makeup very differently. I turn many DW lipsticks pink, so I tend to venture more into the DA recommendations to find things that read the way I want them to. I’m unfortunately not super informed on groups and forums that would be helpful for exploration, other than the one I run for my own draped clients.

About Alane

Alane was trained in the Sci/ART system of Personal Color Analysis in August of 2015 by Terry Wildfong of Your Natural Design. Since then, she has seen countless faces, discovered the beauty of every season, and spent way more time at Sephora than she ever thought she would.